In the next instant, countless psychic projectiles shook loose from the ripples!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The Psyshock barrage hit indiscriminately—Lucario and the ground around it were both caught in the blast with almost nowhere to hide.
Grey could tell what Caitlin was trying to do: use wide-area pressure like this to keep Lucario from properly leveraging its speed.
But…
Ever since Riolu evolved into Lucario, what improved wasn't just its burst speed.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Grey thrust a finger forward, as if the incoming Psyshock was nothing more than something he could flick apart.
"Lu-ca!"
Lucario bent its arms slightly. A purplish-red sphere condensed in its palms, the pressure wave making its long ears sway with the surging energy.
As Psyshock closed in, Lucario stepped forward half a pace. The sphere instantly expanded into a shockwave, blasting part of the incoming barrage into powder.
Thud thud thud…
Psyshock's coverage was simply too large. Some of it still slammed into the ground right beside Lucario, detonating at close range.
Energy erupted. Dust and smoke billowed up on their own, swallowing Lucario's silhouette.
And the moment that happened, Grey knew his opportunity had arrived.
"Just like I thought."
Caitlin had watched Grey's streams many times. She knew he loved using smoke screens like this as cover for a counterattack.
As Grey's top donor, Caitlin had long since imagined countless ways to respond.
And for a classic, textbook move like this, she already had no fewer than ten different counters prepared in her head!
"Future Sight!"
Caitlin's tone gradually flattened.
It was a measure she had to take—to prevent herself from losing control due to overusing psychic power.
"Gothii~"
Gothitelle closed its eyes. Psychic power blossomed across its body in full—then vanished without a trace.
Future Sight: After a short delay, a psychic strike is launched at the opponent's location.
A delayed move, with tremendous power.
The drawback was obvious: it wouldn't deal damage until later.
Lucario didn't care about any of that.
It sprinted across the dojo floor, rapidly closing the distance to Gothitelle.
"And you still won't use a move?"
Caitlin raised an eyebrow. She couldn't understand how Grey could be this patient. Even now, he still wasn't having Lucario throw out another move—Lucario was just running forward on its own.
Thud thud thud…
The footfalls inside the dust cloud were especially loud.
Gothitelle had already prepared to unleash the next move, yet Lucario still showed no sign of using anything.
Was Grey hiding something?
Or was he luring her in?
Caitlin's mind raced. She was terrified of falling into Grey's trap.
"Lu-ca!"
Lucario burst straight through the dust, fully exposed to everyone's eyes—no cover, no feints—charging directly at Gothitelle!
"Psychic!"
Caitlin had calculated this carefully. Her Gothitelle's Psychic was the "spread" kind—wide-area targeting that searched for the opponent and then locked them down.
Even if Lucario used Extreme Speed, Caitlin was confident Gothitelle could catch it and then brutalize it!
Snap—
Almost the instant Caitlin called it, Grey snapped his fingers. His command rang out crisp and loud:
"Dark Pulse."
Lucario didn't stop moving. A dark shockwave fired out in linked, ring-like layers, screaming through the air!
Dark Pulse was a Dark-type move—completely immune to Psychic-type attacks.
Gothitelle tapped the ground with its toe. The blue psychic surge had only just bloomed into a circular ripple when the Dark-type energy crushed it midair, tearing it apart like rotten wood!
Then Gothitelle couldn't dodge in time.
Dark Pulse hit it head-on, blasting it backward several meters before it barely managed to dig in and stop.
"Goth…"
Gothitelle's chest rose and fell sharply. That strike had done serious damage.
The laziness vanished from its eyes, replaced by a fierce, burning will to fight.
"Extreme Speed!"
Grey pulled the battle into the tempo he excelled at.
Lucario's body blurred, becoming a searing white streak that ripped the air apart.
The sonic boom from Extreme Speed detonated across the field, whipping even the hem of Caitlin's nightdress into a fluttering snap.
"Reflect!"
Gothitelle crossed its arms. At the critical moment, powerful psychic energy crystallized into a hexagonal barrier.
The instant Reflect formed, Lucario's fist—trailing afterimages—smashed into it. Normal-type energy exploded at the impact point into a dazzling rain of light!
But as the clash ended, a sharp sense of danger surged through Lucario.
Its fur stood on end.
Lucario snapped its head up—and saw the space above had somehow twisted into a vortex. A psychic orb more than three meters wide had manifested overhead.
Future Sight!
Lucario recognized the move and tried to evade at once.
"Psychic!"
But psychic restraints lashed in from every direction, binding it in place.
"Crunch, then chain into Dark Pulse."
Grey knew that in this situation, Lucario would have a hard time dodging.
So instead of forcing an escape, he decided to gamble—see if they could punch back through it.
"Lu-ca!"
Lucario bared its white fangs. Dark-type energy boiled between its teeth like seething asphalt.
With a low roar, the psychic restraints shattering around its body!
It hastily crossed its claws, barely forming an unstable Dark Pulse—an orb of dark-purple energy that flickered with chaotic, irregular currents.
That rushed counterstrike slammed into the falling Future Sight, and the collision erupted into blinding light!
But an incompletely formed Dark Pulse couldn't fully hold.
The remaining psychic turbulence poured down like a storm.
Lucario tried to break away with Extreme Speed, but it still got grazed.
The damage wasn't severe. Caitlin, seeing that, actually smiled.
If she could hurt Lucario, that meant she truly could battle an Elite Four-level Trainer.
Even if she was using psychic power—psychic power was part of her strength, wasn't it?
"Psyshock!"
Caitlin's offense grew sharper and sharper. She was certain Lucario couldn't keep chaining Extreme Speed in such a short window.
"Gothii~"
Gothitelle spread its arms, and the psychic projectiles fired again.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Above the dojo, countless psychic shots tore through the air—so fast their trajectories were almost impossible to track with the naked eye—as they screamed in!
Lucario's eye twitched. Somehow, it felt like every opponent it faced was always a pain.
Either it was already in a high-level match…
Or it was on the way to one.
"Close in on Gothitelle and use Bullet Punch."
Grey didn't bother worrying about Psyshock.
Type-wise, Lucario wasn't directly countered by Psychic. Even if it took a hit, it wouldn't be a big deal!
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